Temperature Near North Pole Reaches Melting Point

Santa is probably sweating bullets right now because it's abnormally warm in the North Pole.

On Thursday, temperatures in the North Pole went quite close to water's melting point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, or zero degrees Celsius, Mashable reports.

This is 40 F warmer than normal for this time of year in that part of the world.

In addition to generally being the worst year ever, 2016 will be the hottest year ever recorded, and the Arctic had its warmest year ever.

Meanwhile, the old sea ice in the Arctic, which is the sea ice that lasts year after year, is smaller than it has been in three decades.

This unsettling animation from NASA shows just how much the sea ice has disappeared.

Scientists affiliated with the research and journalism group Climate Central concluded that the abnormally high temperatures in the Arctic are directly connected to human-induced climate change. Their recently published analysis states,

The climate of the North Pole in winter is extreme, with 24 hours of darkness and very cold temperatures that vary from year to year and decade to decade.
This year, the North Pole and the surrounding Arctic region are seeing record-high temperatures in November and December and record-low ice extent...
If nothing is done to slow climate change, by the time global warming reaches 2 ºC (3.6 ºF) events like this winter would become common at the North Pole, happening every few years.

This is not a drill, people.

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Climate change is real, it's happening and it's a product of human activities. The importance of acknowledging this — and taking concerted action — cannot be overstated.